Patronus Charm
A Patronus is an insubstantial animal form protector created by the advanced Patronus Charm spell, and one way to defend against Dementors and certain other Dark creatures. The spell requires the use of a wand, concentration on a powerfully happy memory, and the incantation "Expecto Patronum". Presumably, certain physical gestures with the wand are also required, but they have not been specified. The Patronus Charm is advanced magic and difficult to master, especially in emotionally difficult circumstances. Form A Patronus that is fully formed, or corporeal, takes the shape of fairly solid-looking animals; a non-corporeal Patronus appears only as wisps of silvery mist. It is a very complex charm and many qualified wizards and witches have trouble with it. Harry Potter is one of the youngest known wizards to cast a Patronus; he was taught how to do so in 1993 at the age of thirteen by Remus LupinHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In a Dumbledore's Army lesson, Harry taught the members how to use the charm. Some were even successful in casting a corporeal form, though Harry said this might be because there was no Dementor to make them frightened''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. However, some members were later shown to be able to use corporeal Patronuses in the presence of DementorsHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Patronus Charm, like Animagus forms, has been said to reflect the personality or feelings of the witch or wizard. They are, however, subject to change if the caster goes through an emotional upheaval of some sort. For example, Nymphadora Tonks's Patronus changed from its previous form to that of a werewolf, reflecting her love of Remus Lupin, himself a werewolf. Another example is Severus Snape, whose Patronus was that of a doe, the same as Lily Evans, though this may have been the case all along rather than a change from its original form, as Snape was in love with Lily for most of his life. If a wizard is an Animagus and can summon a corporeal Patronus, the two may take the same form, as was the case for Minerva McGonagall and James Potter. Most Patronuses take the form of an ordinary animal, but magical creatures, such as Albus Dumbledore's phoenix Patronus, are not unknown. File:Luna's Patronus.gif|Luna Lovegood's Patronus, a hare. File:Hermione's Patronus.gif|Hermione Granger's Patronus, an otter. File:Ron's Patronus.gif|Ron Weasley's Patronus, a Jack Russell terrier. File:Ginny Patronus.JPG|Ginny Weasley's Patronus, a horse. File:Silverdoe.jpg|Severus Snape's Patronus, a doe, identical to Lily Evans'. File:Weddingdisrupted.jpg|Kingsley Shacklebolt's Patronus, a lynx. The Charm In order to cast this charm, one must think of an extremely happy memory or idea, and then say the incantation: "Expecto Patronum". Because of this, negative emotions can compromise a wizard or witch's ability to cast a Patronus. For instance, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger all had difficulty casting their Patronuses when under the negative influence of Salazar Slytherin's Locket, one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, and after witnessing the death of Fred Weasley in battle. Uses using the Patronus charm as a method of communication.]] There are two known uses for the Patronus charm. The first and main use of the Patronus is to drive off certain Dark creatures such as Dementors and Lethifolds, and is the only known charm that will work against them. As Dementors feed on happy memories to render humans to drown in sorrow and sadness, the Patronus acts as a shield of sort, of which the Dementor would try to feed off of instead. A non-corporeal Patronus only impedes Dementors, while a full-fledged one can drive them away. The other use was devised by none other than Albus Dumbledore, who invented a way of using the Patronus to deliver messages. This source of communication is believed to be exclusive to the members of the Order of the Phoenix. Using the Patronus for communication offers great advantages in security, as Patronuses identify the caster and are Dark-proof. Etymology ''Patronus means "protector" or "guardian" in Latin, reflecting the role the Patronus Charm plays. In archaic Latin, it meant "father", which is interesting, considering that Harry Potter's Patronus is the same as his father's Patronus and Animagus form. The Latin word exspecto or expecto means "I watch for" or "I await", thus the charm's incantation roughly translates into "I await a protector".Patronus Charm at Wikipedia The Patronus in the films *In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry's and Remus' non-corporeal Patronuses are more like a shield. In addition, his corporeal Patronus, a stag, sent out a sort of omni-directional pulse, which drove the Dementors away, rather than running them down (likely because of the number of Dementors and their flight abilities in the film). *In film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, his Patronus physically attacks the Dementors by charging at them, as depicted in the books. Also, Patronuses produced by the members of Dumbledore's Army make noises and are capable of interacting with physical objects, such as Ron's dog Patronus knocking over Neville Longbottom. Known Patronuses Behind the scenes * In the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a white peacock appears in the gardens of Malfoy Manor. Some fans believed this bird to be Lucius Malfoy's Patronus. However, Joanne Rowling stated that no Death Eater except Severus Snape could conjure a Patronus. This means that the peacock was in fact a living creature. It is stated in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that the creature was in fact an albino peacock. *In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the more moderate Expecto Patronum is a ball of light (before cast, a white ring goes up Harry's arm and if it reaches top of the wand, Harry has to try the spell again) and is used only to attack Dementors. At the climax of the game, a stag (Harry's Patronus) jumps out of the wand and the player must control it to kill all the Dementors nearby attacking Harry and Sirius. *The lecture that Harry gives on Patronuses to Dumbledore's Army in the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is extremely similar to the lecture Remus Lupin gave him in the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Appearances *''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' *''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)'' *''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)'' *''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)'' *''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' Notes and references fr:Patronus pl:Patronus ru:Патронус thumb|300px|right Category:Communication Category:Magic